Ethiopia | Medium-Dark Roast

Cupping Notes:

Dry process Ethiopias are perhaps some of the most complex coffees we carry, and this lot from Shantawene is a testament to that. My light City roast may have been a shade too light, but still produced potent aromatics, ripe fruit, and even some faint floral notes. The dry fragrance has fruited smells of canned mandarin oranges and freeze dried strawberry, whereas the wet aromatics produced more cooked and dried fruited smells, with notes of red berry and some rustic apricot. At City and City+ the cup is heavy handed, with flavors notes of strawberry jam, sweetened cranberry juice, honeydew melon and a stone fruit accents. The acidic impression has a refreshing quality, like fresh strawberries, that cuts through the complex cup profile and has a structuring effect to the array of wilder fruit. Dark roasts don't tamp down on the fruit flavors completely, but they do bring out intense roast bittering that gets a little 'ashy' for my taste. I think some of that is a result of the tiny beans that are mixed in. If you have the means to control heat, try pulling back a little before or at the fist audible snaps to help to keep from scorching the tiniest beans. If you're roasting in a popper, I'd try shooting for City/City+ max and call it a day. Lighter roasts were my personal favorite anyway!